Some ideas need to percolate...

On one of my posts about the cold spells, Bettina queried if an electric blanket would help.  I dismissed that suggestion because I had to give them up years ago for getting too hot with them.  When I get too hot, I become very ill.  That is one of the main problems with the cold spells.  Sometimes, I will be so desperate that I crank up the heat to 80 or 85.  Doing so will break through my arctic state, but will also tip me over to illness on the other end of the spectrum because you cannot just cool off a house immediately.  Falling asleep beneath an electric blanket could help, but then it would roast me into illness.

However...I have been using an ancient heating pad all day long in the GREEN chair, since sometimes my layers of clothing and the two throws I have downstairs is not enough.  It really needs to be replaced.  Being so miserable with cold at night lately, I revisited Bettina's idea several times, wishing I could just do some bedtime roasting.  Then...I got to thinking about the new heating pad I bought for my neck and shoulders to help with pain from muscles tense from enduring severe headaches and migraines. One of its features that many did not like is that it automatically shuts off after two hours.

So, I tried putting it beneath the blankets in bed to see what would happen.  Sure enough, basically, the heating pad provided spots of warmth to my cold body and heated the air trapped beneath the blankets that my body was failing to warm.  For four nights, I have not been miserable in bed...at least for very long!

Today, the UPS man brought me a new heating pad (I hope to get another one for downstairs).  It is twice as long and drapes across my torso well, which the neck and shoulders one does not quite do given its very specific cape-like shape.  It also has the two-hour shut-off feature.  As with the cape one, if I awake cold or, as is wont to happen, get too cold when fetching a fresh ice-pack in the middle of the night or my medication early morn, I can merely turn it on for another two hours.

So, the condition is no better and the battle still fierce and rather miserable at times, but at least I have a small victory over being so cold that I cannot sleep.  I suppose, too, if I cannot bear it during the day, I could hide in bed for a while.

Thank you, Bettina, for thinking about something to help me and offering your idea.  Several people have posted comments that have been rather helpful to me when I wail about the things I am facing.  This is an example where a bit of percolating can turn a seemingly inapplicable idea into a most blessed and welcome solution.


I am Yours, Lord.  Save me!